Thomas Andrews
Thomas Andrews Jr. (born February 7, 1873–died April 15, 1912) was a British shipbuilder from Ireland. He designed the [[RMS Titanic Liverpool|RMS Titanic]] and oversaw her construction from 1909–12 as Managing Director of the shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff. He was a very warm and kind-hearted man who was modest about his achievements. Shortly after Titanic collided with an iceberg, Andrews was one of the first people to realise that the ship would indeed sink. He was both protective and respectful towards Rose DeWitt Bukater. He confided in her that the Titanic would sink while he was unwilling to announce this to the passengers in general, wishing not to alarm them. He was also friendly to Rose's friend and later lover Jack Dawson, despite Jack being a third-class passenger. Character history Life on Titanic Thomas Andrews was one of the nine-man guarantee group to be on board to oversee the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Death Andrews is seen standing in the first–class smoking room staring at a painting, "Plymouth Harbour", above the fireplace, his lifejacket lying on a nearby table; he gave the life jacket to Rose in hopes that she would survive. He also expressed to her his regrets and seeks her apology saying, "I'm sorry I didn't build you a stronger ship, young Rose." Then they embrace, as a final farewell. While the musicians performed Nearer God To Thee, Andrews was carefully correcting the clock on the mantle. Although Andrews' death was never shown on screen, he died when the ship split in half and destroyed the smoking room. Behind the scenes Andrews was portrayed by Victor Garber in the film. Contrary to popular belief, the sighting of Thomas Andrews in the smoking room was not the last sighting of him. The story of Thomas Andrews accepting his fate and waiting in the smoking room for the end to come is one of the most famous legends of the sinking of the Titanic; the story is that Andrews was last seen by John Stewart, a steward on the ship at approximately 2:10 A.M.(ten minutes before the Titanic fully sank into the Atlantic): Andrews was standing alone in the first–class smoking room staring at a painting, "Plymouth Harbour", above the fireplace, arms folded over his chest, his lifejacket lying on a nearby table. But this story, which was published in a 1913 book (Thomas Andrews: Shipbuilder) and therefore perpetuated, came from John Stewart, a steward on the ship who in fact did leave the ship in boat n. 15 at approximately 1:40 a.m. There were testimonies of sightings of Andrews after that moment. It appears that Andrews stayed in the smoking room for some time to gather his thoughts, then he continued assisting with the evacuation. Another reported sighting was of Andrews frantically throwing deck chairs into the ocean for passengers to use as floating devices. Andrews was then seen making his way to the bridge while carrying a lifebelt, possibly the same lifebelt Andrews had draped over a chair in the Smoke Room. Andrews was last seen leaving the ship at the last moment. External links * *Thomas Andrews at Find a Grave Gallery Titanic_323Pyxurz.jpg|Thomas revealing the fate of the Titanic to the captain and crew. Titanic-1997-titanic-22289842-1706-960.jpg|Thomas Andrews in the Titanic Heaven sequence. Thomasandrews.jpg|Thomas Andrews, builder of the RMS Titanic. titanic-movie-screencaps.com-9137.jpg titanic-movie-screencaps.com-12807.jpg titanic-movie-screencaps.com-17754.jpg titanic-movie-screencaps.com-18049.jpg Category:Characters Category:1912 Characters Category:Male Characters Category:First-Class Passengers Category:Main Characters Category:Historical Characters Category:Irish individuals Category:Titanic casualties